We arrived just in time to see a changing of the guard. There are two guards at each entrance with the shifts being changed on the hour.
The view from the castle looking down to Prague.
A view in a different direction. Notice the large TV tower on the horizon.
The castle was a self-contained city, with courtyards, palaces, towers, churches, and gardens as well as housing and workplaces for all the servants.
St. Vitus' Cathedral was massive in size.
The ceiling appeared to be nearly 100 feet high.
From the Castle we wound our way down the hill as our guide pointed out many landmarks. There was a series of small shops in what was once sleeping quarters in the castle. Ann would have liked to bring home this wreath with the intricate ornamentation.
Some of the doorways were not very high, built for the height of people in the middle ages.
Our guide took us to this small park with a lake filled with large goldfish - a very European view.
Across the Vltava River is the Old Town Square. Notice all the swans in the river. One of the most famous landmarks of Prague, the Charles Bridge (built in the 1400's), is in the background.
A view from the Charles Bridge.
Prague firemen erected this commemorative marker to show their devotion to the members of the New York Fire Department who lost their lives on 9-11.
We couldn't help but admire the architecture in the buildings lining Old Market Square. Look at the pastel colors on the different buildings. If you look closely you can see tourist guides on segways trying to drum up business.
The famous medieval astronomical clock on the side of Old Town Hall.
On our way to lunch we passed a small market. Look at the delicious meats being roasted on charcoal.
Paul took several hours to visit a local casino. He came back with more money than he started with. The casino card was cardboard and didn't hold up too well in Paul's pocket.
We enjoyed a leisurely dinner and an evening walk back to the Old Town Square.
Many of the buildings surrounding Old Town Square looked even more magnificent in the evening.
It is hard to believe our wonderful river cruise trip up the Danube and then to Prague by bus has come to an end. Tomorrow we will have a leisurely morning before taking a car to the Prague airport to catch our flight back to Atlanta. We talked at dinner earlier in the evening about what we liked most about the trip and could come to no conclusions. Each day seemed to add new highlights to our incredible journey.
This concludes our blog for 2015. Thank you for being part of our adventures.
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